THE CHURCH MILITANT
Ephesians 5:11-"And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather expose them". This Christian News Blog maintains a one stop resource of current news and reports of its own related to church, moral, spiritual, and related political issues, plus articles, and postings from other online discernment ministries, and media which share the aims to obey the biblical commands to shed light on and refute error, heresy, apostasy, cults, and spiritual abuse.
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purposes:
(Christian News Network)— More than 100 pastors recently signed a letter to the Ohio Board of Education, which was also sent to 39 school districts, to express opposition to yoga and transcendental meditation being taught in schools as they are rooted in Eastern religion and are a spiritual practice at their core.
The letter, signed by 105 pastors from various denominations, notes that yoga has been taught during school hours in Clear Fork, Galion, Lexington, Lucas, Mansfield and Shelby counties and asks for an assurance that such practices will be discontinued.
“Yoga is not merely an external physical practice with a purely physiological effect, but rather an internal spiritual practice advertised as being able to provide the power to change an individual and transform the world,” it reads. “Specifically, yoga’s ‘stretching’ and ‘breathing’ components, called ‘asanas’ and ‘pranayama’ in Sanskrit, are intended to be spiritually transformative.”
The correspondence points to various court decisions characterizing yoga as being rooted in Hinduism, including the 1988 case of Powell v. Perry, which concluded that “yoga is a method of practicing Hinduism,” and the 1995 case of Self-Realization Fellowship Church v. Ananda Church of Self-Realization, which spoke of the “Hindu-yoga spiritual tradition.”
The pastors further provide examples of classroom or physical education sessions that incorporated yoga, including where a Lexington language arts teacher allegedly taught sixth-graders how to “salute the sun god Surya,” or “bow to the sun,” as well as how to get into a “praying hands posture.”
In Plain School District, an elementary school is said to have created a “mindfulness room” that featured quotes from the Dalai Lama. Its yoga program was discontinued in 2013 following complaints from parents.
The letter also notes that those involved in Eastern religion refute assertions that yoga is not a religious activity. It cites Subhas Tiwari, professor at the Hindu University of America and graduate of Bihar Yoga Bharati University, who once said, “The simple immutable fact is that yoga originated from the Vedic or Hindu culture. Its techniques were not adopted by Hinduism, but rather originated from it.”
The pastors concede that while “[m]ost initiate yoga practice for exercise and stress relief,” for others, “spirituality becomes their primary reason for maintaining practice.” They point to a study of mindful yoga retreat participants, which found that “longer-term meditators were less likely to be religious monotheists and more likely to identify as Buddhist or with ‘all’ religions.”
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Further, “[w]hile proponents of Eastern religion allege yoga brings benefits to student practitioners, our biblical faith tradition brings just as many, if not more, scientifically-proven benefits,” the clergy contend. “Yet, ironically in a nation with Judeo-Christian heritage, it is school sanctioned prayer, Intelligent Design curriculum and the display of the Ten Commandments that are strictly prohibited from public schools.”
They therefore ask that the school districts discontinue teaching yoga and transcendental meditation to students.
Signees include pastors Howard Burnett of Perryville Baptist Church, Floyd Allen of Philippian Community Church, Ron Smals of Woodville Grace Brethren, Paul Larson of First English Lutheran Church, Russ Smith of Shiloh Wesleyan Church, Dan Zediker of Mission Point Mansfield, Bill Strader of Bucyrus First Alliance Church, Sylvester Ginn of Hesed Agape Fellowship, Layton Broom of Paradise Hill United Methodist Church, and William Jordan of Faith Temple Church of God in Christ.
“If you go to the fitness section of any bookstore and look in the yoga subsection, you will find references to the spiritual aspects of Yoga such as the chakra system, kundalini, etc. in almost every book on yoga. It is quite rare to find a book on yoga that does not incorporate spiritual concepts found in classic Hinduism,” Yungen explained. “To devout Hindus, yoga cannot be separated into physical and spiritual parts. Both are relevant to the practice, with the end desire being a profound religious experience.”
He said that some Christians have wrongly concluded that yoga can be adopted by believers as long as it is stripped of its pagan aspects.
“We live in an age where the acceptance of trendy practices, such as yoga, is hammered into us from every side, with the end result being an ecumenical generic inter-spirituality that fits everybody,” Yungen lamented.
“Believers in Christ have fallen prey to some dangerous ideas. One is that we feel free to draw from pagan sources. Or, as is popularly stated, we can chew the meat and spit out the bones. But this doesn’t make any sense from a biblical standpoint,” he said. “As a Christian, we can’t segregate into portions what part we think will do us harm and what part will profit us. If the foundational spirituality is contrary to God’s word, then it will be folly to interact with it.”
CONTACT: CAIR-Cincinnati Executive Director Karen Dabdoub, 513-281-8200, kdabdoub@cair.com; CAIR National Communications Coordinator Ayan Ajeen, aajeen@cair.com; CAIR National Communications Director Ibrahim Hooper, 202-744-7726, ihooper@cair.com
“The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), is calling on Amazon, Google and Barnes and Noble, including the companies of Audible and Kindle, to remove ‘all white supremacist and pro-confederate digital audio books and related social media ads.'”
One wonders who will be arbiter in determining where the line is drawn in determining what is “white supremacist” material. Already CAIR has positioned itself as judge, and few in the establishment media pay attention to its links to Hamas. Few note that its definition of what is “white supremacist” is extremely broad.
The logic of CAIR’s demand is outrageous. A first priority should be that Islamic supremacist preaching and literature be removed from all mosques, Islamic centers, and madrassas; after that, every Islamic group associated with Hamas and other jihad terror organizations should be banned, including CAIR.
Regnery Publishing President Marji Ross accused CAIR of an “insidious and dishonest smear campaign”….
“Regnery strenuously objects to the insidious and dishonest smear campaign being waged by CAIR against our author, our book, and millions of Americans,” she said in a statement. “Conflating ‘white supremacy’ with ‘confederate’ is a loathsome and despicable tactic, used to discredit and slander anyone who dares to voice support for the South or the ideals of liberty and self-determination embraced by so many patriots during the Civil War and ever since.”
Those who support the freedom of speech — including leaders from both the public and private sectors — need to organize better in opposing CAIR and other groups connected to jihad terror. Otherwise such groups will continue to grow more emboldened and increase their influence. The issue of Islamic supremacism is a serious one that threatens the freedom of Western nations. That CAIR could so brazenly suggest that major retailers “pull white supremacist and pro-confederate materials from their websites,” especially given the dirt in its own backyard, is a demonstration of just how far the West has descended to in enabling such groups.
As for the Southern Poverty Law Center, which routinely backs CAIR and vice versa (since like supports like):
CAIR said The Southern Poverty Law Center indicates that the book “was a key inspiration for Timothy McVeigh’s 1995 Oklahoma City bombing.”
McVeigh only has himself to blame. He was following no group and could point to no doctrine that backed his behavior. Jihadists can and do. The disgraced SPLC also has no credibility, any more than CAIR does. It has a “systemic culture of racism and sexism” within its own ranks, and long ago lost its way.
“Group calls on Amazon, Google to remove ‘white supremacist, pro-Confederate’ materials,” Fox 17, December 11, 2019:
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WZTV) — A group is calling on major retailers to pull white supremacist and pro-confederate materials from their websites.
The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), is calling on Amazon, Google and Barnes and Noble, including the companies of Audible and Kindle, to remove “all white supremacist and pro-confederate digital audio books and related social media ads.”
CAIR said it found the companies selling books like “The South was Right,” “The Politically Incorrect Guide to the Civil War” and “The Turner Diaries,” a neo-Nazi “recruitment novel.” CAIR said these novels promote white supremacy.
“It is inexcusable for internet retailers like Amazon, Google, Audio Books, and Barnes and Noble to profit from the mainstreaming of White supremacist historical revisionism that celebrates the treason of the Confederacy and excuses the abomination of slavery,” said CAIR Director of Government Affairs Robert S. McCaw. “Amazon, Google, Audio Books, and Barnes and Noble should immediately remove all white supremacist and pro-Confederacy digital audio books and related social media ads.”….
“Regnery Publishing accuses CAIR of ‘smear campaign’ for effort to ban book on Confederacy,” by Valerie Richardson, Washington Times, December 11, 2019:
“The Politically Incorrect Guide to the Civil War” may not appear on everyone’s Christmas list, but an effort by the Council for American-Islamic Relations to ban the book has met with resistance from the publisher and author.
Regnery Publishing President Marji Ross accused CAIR of an “insidious and dishonest smear campaign” after the liberal advocacy group called on Amazon, Google, and Barnes & Noble to stop carrying certain “pro-Confederate and white supremacist” titles.
“Regnery strenuously objects to the insidious and dishonest smear campaign being waged by CAIR against our author, our book, and millions of Americans,” she said in a statement. “Conflating ‘white supremacy’ with ‘confederate’ is a loathsome and despicable tactic, used to discredit and slander anyone who dares to voice support for the South or the ideals of liberty and self-determination embraced by so many patriots during the Civil War and ever since.”
In its campaign launched Monday, CAIR also singled out the 2011 non-fiction book “The South Was Right!” as well as “The Turner Diaries,” the notoriously racist and anti-Semitic 1978 novel about the violent overthrow of the U.S. government credited with inspiring the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing.
Robert McCaw, CAIR director of government affairs, called it “inexcusable for internet retailers like Amazon, Google, Audio Books, and Barnes and Noble to profit from the mainstreaming of white supremacist historical revisionism that celebrates the treason of the Confederacy and excuses the abomination of slavery.”
The retailers “should immediately remove all white supremacist and pro-Confederacy digital audio books and related social media ads,” he said in a press release….
Certainly there is no love lost between Regnery and CAIR. In her statement, Ms. Ross called it “ironic” that CAIR would mount such an effort.
“It is particularly ironic that CAIR is behind this campaign, given the absurd hypocrisy of an organization which is dedicated to promoting misogyny, anti-Semitism, and Islamo-supremacy feigning concern for human rights, inclusiveness, justice or civil liberties,” she said. “We encourage anyone who seeks to know the truth to check Sharia law on questions of rights for women, Jews, gays, or any other non-Muslim minority and get back to us on who really believes in liberty and justice for all.”
Mr. McCaw responded with a blast at Regnery: “The publisher’s bigoted and hysterical response to our criticism of white supremacy and the Confederacy shows exactly why no mainstream corporation should sell its hateful and ahistorical books. Just as Amazon, Google and Barnes & Noble do not sell propaganda that celebrates Nazism, they should not sell books that celebrate and whitewash the racist traitors of the Confederacy.”
Among the books in the popular Regnery series is “The Politically Incorrect Guide to Islam (and the Crusades)” by Robert Spencer, founder of the Jihad Watch blog.
“It is a troubling sign of the times to witness the cognitive dissonance of a publisher like Regnery who defends the Confederacy’s traitorous effort to destroy our nation and to enshrine slavery as a national institution,” Mr. McCaw said. “But that should not be surprising since Regnery publishes Islamophobic authors like Robert Spencer and smears the Islamic faith of millions of Americans.”…
The Law of Attraction states that your positive or negative thoughts control your reality. Doreen Virtue and Melissa Dougherty explain why they no longer believe in, use, or recommend the Law of Attraction. They show in scripture what the Bible says about God supplying our needs, and the dangers of relying on Law of Attraction principles.
You can write to Melissa at Instagram.com/melissa_dougherty77 and Doreen is at Instagram.com/DoreenVirtue through the Instagram message system
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You can contact Melissa through her YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCyKg...
and through her Instagram page at:
Instagram.com/melissadougherty77
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Doreen Virtue Testimony: "Why I left the new age to follow Jesus" Doreen Virtue describes how and why she is now a born-again Christian, and why she has denounced her previous work and the new age.
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November 27, 2019 (Radiance Foundation) — There's a lot of talk about Chick-fil-A. Most of it is generated by the #fakenews establishment that wants nothing more than to demonize an organization that, historically, has publicly professed its Christian faith that is inseparable from its business practices.
"[We are] based on biblical principles, asking God and pleading with God to give us wisdom on decisions we make about people and the programs and partnerships we have. And He has blessed us."
Those were the words of Chick-fil-A's CEO, Dan Cathy, to the Baptist Press back in 2012 as he confirmed his biblical belief that marriage is between one man and one woman.
Days later, a disgruntled activist violently took out his disagreement with Chick-fil-A by trying to kill as many people as possible inside of Family Research Council's (FRC) DC headquarters. According to the FBI interrogation, Floyd Lee Corkins chose FRC as a target because "Southern Poverty Law [Center] lists anti-gay groups. I found them online." So, Corkins stormed inside FRC's building, armed with a backpack full of Chick-fil-A sandwiches and 50 rounds of ammunition to "kill as many as possible and smear the Chick-Fil-A sandwiches in victims' faces, and kill the guard."
His heinous attack was stopped by FRC's security guard, Leo Johnson—a hero who was shot while stopping the terrorist attack. In 2012, Corkins was sentenced to prison for 25 years.
In 2017 Chick-fil-A donated money to the same corrupt SPLC that still outrageously lists FRC as a "hate group."
The Chick-fil-A Foundation's recent announcement about its future funding again reaffirmed its redirection and capitulation. It just so happens that the same three groups targeted for years by LGBT organizations as anti-LGBT "hate groups" just happened to be the same ones that would no longer be funded: The Salvation Army, Paul Anderson Youth Home and Fellowship of Christian Athletes. Chick-fil-A's press release acknowledges that these groups were "characterized as anti-LGBT groups" but never dispels that. They give excuses, basically, as to why they had funded these three remarkable organizations but would no longer.
For those defending Chick-fil-A and pretending we haven't witnessed their progression of capitulation, the Salvation Army sees it for what it is, stating in a press release: "We're saddened to learn that a corporate partner has felt it necessary to divert funding to other hunger, education and homelessness organizations." The Salvation Army does all three on a massive scale. But they don't espouse an LGBT ideology.
In explaining Chick-fil-A's funding decisions, Rodney Bullard, VP of Corporate Responsibility and Executive Director of the Chick-fil-A Foundation said: "We don't want our intent and our work to be encumbered by someone else's politics or cultural war. If something gets in the way of our mission, that is something that we are mindful of and cognizant of."
Has their mission drifted way to the Left? Out with organizations that do not espouse a pro-homosexuality ideology and in with those who do, like Covenant House. Don't let the Catholic association fool you, though. Covenant House, a homeless shelter for youth, takes pride in its promotion of all things LGBTQ. They even marched in the New York "Gay Pride" parade to show their inclusivity cred. Guess the Salvation Army (which admittedly has an issue with partially supporting abortion in cases of rape, incest and "life and health" of the mother) should've flown some co-opted rainbow colors to keep their hundreds of thousands in funding. Whoops. Looks like Covenant is the new Salvation.
Chick-fil-A also funds the DC-based New Leadership Council that identifies as a "hub of progressive millennial thought leadership" which exists to "support one another along their individual path to a more progressive political and cultural landscape."
Chick-fil-A has given a sizable donation ($50k) to The Pace Center for Girls, yet another pro-abortion organization. The education and advocacy group featured radical pro-abortion feminist Gloria Steinem (the "I Had An Abortion" activist who declared that birthing children is the "fundamental cause of climate change") as their keynote speaker for their most recent girls' Summit.
Or, how about Usher's New Look, R&B star Usher Raymond IV's liberal non-profit? The group's Disruptivator Summit is all about progressive community organizing on pivotal social issues, and Chick-fil-A funds it ($38,700 in 2017).
Chick-fil-A also gives tens of thousands to Chris 180 ($27,500 in 2017, $25k in 2019), a pro-LGBT behavioral health and child welfare service agency. The organization boasts of being awarded the "Leader in Supporting and Serving LGBT Families and Youth from the Human Rights Campaign Foundation (HRC)." Nothing promotes human degradation quite like the pro-abortion HRC — the multi-million-dollar LGBT powerhouse that recently pushed for the legalization of prostitution in DC.
You can always love and serve the broken without affirming the brokenness.
And then there's Junior Achievement (JA), which inarguably does some phenomenal work with education and entrepreneurship. They're the recipients of hundreds of thousands a year from Chick-fil-A. In 2016, though, JA joined a coalition (Georgia Prospers) of pro-LGBT businesses in their "Too Busy to Hate" campaign to politically oppose religious liberty legislation (specifically the First Amendment Defense Act) from passing in Georgia.
So much for "not being encumbered by someone else's politics or cultural war." These groups, and many more funded by Chick-fil-A, are clearly political and liberal. Of course Chick-fil-A funds a lot of great initiatives, but they're being publicly dishonest about their corporate evolution. And the millions of families who've supported them over the years, because of the fast food chain's principled stand, deserve to know the COWardice that the company has shown in the face of "progressive" activism.
November 27, 2019 (LifeSiteNews) – Pro-family advocates are responding with shock to the revelation that the ostensibly religious food chain Chick-fil-A has funded several organizations with anti-Christian values on life and sexuality, including the far-left Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC).This comes as controversy grows over Chick-fil-A withdrawing its funding from Christian charities branded “anti-LGBT” by left-wing organizations.
For years, LGBT activists have attempted to brand Chick-fil-A as “hateful” due to CEO Dan Cathy’s stated opposition to same-sex “marriage” and the company’s past donations to social conservative groups such as Family Research Council and Focus on the Family. But while the company has no shortage of detractors in politics and media, the complaints fell on deaf ears among actual customers.
Nevertheless, the company announced earlier this month that it will stop donating to Salvation Army, the Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA), and the Paul Anderson Youth Home. These organizations have been attacked as “anti-LGBT” for taking traditional Biblical stances on homosexuality. Chick-fil-A says it wants to refocus its giving on the causes of education, homelessness, and hunger, through the organizations Junior Achievement USA and Covenant House, as well as to various community food banks.
“We don't want our intent and our work to be encumbered by someone else's politics or cultural war,” the Chick-fil-A Foundation’s Rodney Bullard said. “If something gets in the way of our mission, that is something that we are mindful of and cognizant of.”
However, as the Radiance Foundation’s Ryan Bomberger details, IRS forms reveal that Chick-fil-A has donated to several organizations on the other side of the culture war. These include the pro-abortion YWCA and Pace Center for Girls, the pro-LGBT Chris 180 and Junior Achievement, and the “progressive” New Leadership Council and Usher’s New Look.
But the most shocking revelation was a 2017 donation to the Southern Poverty Law Center, an organization dedicated to labeling mainstream Christian and/or conservative organizations—including Chick-fil-A itself—as “hate groups.”
"Not only has Chick-fil-A abandoned donations to Christian groups including the Salvation Army, it has donated to one of the most extreme anti-Christian groups in America,” Family Research Council (FRC) president Tony Perkins said in a statement. “Anyone who opposes the SPLC, including many Protestants, Catholics, Jews, Muslims, and traditional conservatives, is slandered and slapped with the 'extremist' label or even worse, their 'hate group' designation.”
"Seven years ago, a shooter entered our building with the intent to murder as many people as possible and smear a Chick-fil-A sandwich in their faces,” Perkins continued, referencing the 2012 case of Floyd Lee Corkins II. “The gunman was enraged by the nationwide Chick-fil-A Appreciation Day held two weeks before and used the SPLC's 'hate map' to identify FRC as his target. Despite being seriously wounded, the FRC building manager, Leo Johnson, heroically stopped the gunman.”
“Dan Cathy, nor anyone with Chick-fil-A inquired about the well-being of Mr. Johnson or any of the FRC team members, but they made a donation to the SPLC which was linked in federal court to this act of domestic terrorism,” Perkins noted. “Chick-fil-A has seriously lost their way. It's time for Christians to find a fast food alternative to Chick-fil-A.”
On Tuesday, a coalition of conservative leaders wrote an open letter to Chick-fil-A CEO Dan Cathy expressing how “tremendously disappointed” they are in the company. Signatories include United Nations Human Rights Commissioner Kenneth Blackwell, Media Research Center founder Brent Bozell, Heritage Foundation president Kay Cole James, Liberty Counsel founder Mat Staver, Conservative HQ chairman Richard Viguerie, and many others.
"When you were under attack by the left in 2012, America's families stood with you," it notes. "We, the signers of this letter, stood with you, and many of us urged our supporters to do the same. We helped form long lines at your stores, stretching out the doors and around the buildings, in many cases.” But “your latest decisions to withdraw charitable giving to the Salvation Army and other Christian charities has betrayed the very people who stood with you.”
You have instead allied yourself with a bully-tactic leftist movement that will never be satisfied with your compromises,” the letter warns. “There is a growing list of American corporations that have discovered, with each new compromise, leftists only become more emboldened in their attacks.”
The YWCA of Asheville is proud to be a host organization for The Tzedek Social Justice Fellowship, a unique one-year paid career and community development opportunity for emerging nonprofit and social justice leaders interested in becoming resilient agents of change in their communities.
CHICK-FIL-A EXECUTIVE IN CHARGE OF GIVING, PERSONALLY GAVE $1,000 TO HILLARY CLINTON, OBAMA CAMPAIGNS~ALSO ON BOARD OF SALVATION ARMY WHERE FUNDING WAS CUT
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(Front Page Magazine)— Chick-fil-A’s announcement that it was dumping the Salvation Army and the Fellowship of Christian Athletes, which have come under attack by gay activist groups, caught Christian fans of the fast food chain by surprise. It shouldn’t have if they had been paying attention to CFA’s corporate structure.
The donations were coming out of the Chick-fil-A Foundation. The Executive Director of the CFA Foundation is Rodney D. Bullard, a former White House fellow and assistant U.S. attorney. Some may have mistaken him for a conservative because he was a fellow in the Bush Administration, but he was an Obama donor, and more recently, had donated to Hillary Clinton’s campaign while at Chick-fil-A.
Like many corporations, Chick-fil-A branded its charitable giving as a form of social responsibility. Bullard became its vice president of Corporate Social Responsibility. Unlike charity, corporate social responsibility is a leftist endeavor to transform corporations into the political arms of radical causes. …
In an interview with Business Insider earlier this year, Bullard emphasized that the Chick-fil-A Foundation had a “higher calling than any political or cultural war.”
Yoga is a very popular form of fitness in this day and age. It is touted as a perfect way to relax, get fit, and become more spiritually aware. However, yoga is actually a form of spiritual alignment with the kundalini spirit, aka the goddess Shakti. Watch as Beth shares her experiences with yoga, how it affected her life, and how it was used in satanic ritual abuse.
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About Me: Hi my name is Beth :) I am an ex witch and new ager, who came out of satanic ritual abuse in the Mormon church. I am saved by the love and grace of Jesus Christ, and I blog and vlog about my past experiences, what I have learned and where God is leading me. I am also a stay at home mom of 4 boys, and married to a wonderful man.
Yoga is not a healthy form of exercise or stretching, but it connects you with powerful spirits that turn you into their temple and power hub. Watch as Beth describes her experiences with channeling these spirits and how it affected her.
